Indian student bullied in Texas school, Indian-American lawmakers express concern [Watch]
All Indian-American members of the present US Congress have expressed deep concern over the incident of an Indian boy being bullied at a school in Texas, the video of which has now gone viral.
In a joint statement, Indian-American Congressmen Ami Bera, Ro Khanna, Raja Krishnamoorthi and Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal said: "We are writing to express our deep concern about the recent incident of bullying which occurred at Coppell Middle School North in the Coppell Independent School District (CISD). As you know, a widely circulated video of the incident shows 14-year-old Shaan Pritmani being assaulted and eventually "choked out" in an alleged wrestling maneuver that could have resulted in serious injury."
Watch the video here:
14 y/o at Coppell Middle School North gets assaulted in the cafeteria, while students just watched.
— Malini Basu (@MaliniBasu_) May 16, 2022
Teen in chokehold faced 3days of punishment. His parents are outraged. Other teen faced 1 day of punishment.
Teen tells me, he didn't want to fight back, & get in trouble.@wfaa pic.twitter.com/f2Clha8qpF
"This video has sparked widespread outrage in the Indian American community. As Indian American members of Congress and representatives of our diverse communities, the possibility of a young Indian American being targeted in this manner is extremely disturbing," they said.
The letter was written to Superintendent of Coppell Independent School District in Texas Brad Hunt and Principal of Coppell Middle School Greg Axelson.
"We understand that in a May 15, 2022, statement to the community, Dr. Hunt highlighted that bullying, both verbal and physical, as well as physical acts of aggression are never acceptable and do not align with who we are at CISD and our core values," the Indian American Congressmen said.
This is the first time that all four Indian-American lawmakers have written a joint letter to the authority.
Congressman Ro Khanna in a tweet said."The recent incident of bullying at Coppell Middle School North targeting a young Indian American student is unacceptable and has touched a nerve across the nation."
First published: 24 May 2022, 16:10 IST